1975 – In front of a crowd of 4,949 at the West Side Tennis Club, Onny Parun of New Zealand defeats Stan Smith, 6-4, 6-2, in the first night match ever played at the US Open.

1985 – Mary Joe Fernandez, at the age of 14 years and eight days, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the US Open when she defeats Sara Gomer, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round.

1991 – Fifteen-year-old Lindsay Davenport makes her US Open debut, losing in the first round to fellow American Debbie Graham, 6-3, 6-2.

2007 – The USTA commemorates the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's triumph at the 1957 U.S. National Championships with an Opening Night celebration themed, "Breaking Barriers." The tribute includes a celebration of African-American women who broke barriers in the world of sports, entertainment, politics and the arts. Among the featured pioneers are Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Dr. Mae Jemison, Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin. The ceremony is followed by back-to-back singles matches featuring two-time US Open women's singles champions Serena Williams and Venus Williams—the first time in US Open history that Opening Night featured back-to-back women's matches.